Conical owners - should I pull the trigger?

[McMullan]

I don't think anyone is arguing about conicals making better beer. Chill out dude and quit calling people fanboys. You sound like a dick when you do that. The OP is basically getting something from his company for free, maybe wants some bling, asking for opinions, and boy is he getting them...You know, opinions are kinda like a**holes...everyone's got one and they alllllll stink.
Personally, if I had the space and brewed big enough batches, I'd dig a conical with castors. I think that'd be badass. But as it is, I use an SS Brewtech brewbucket. Suits me fine.

 

[ITV]

I haven't thought too much about it. I always thought it was a cost I couldn't justify. But.....my company is offering me $1000 to purchase my anniversary gift.
I went to the spike store and quickly made up a $995 CF5 bundle - comprising of most of the bells and whistles I would need.
Do you love your conical? Other suggestions.

Is your company hiring?
I have the CF10 and love it. I have an upright freezer that I use as a fermentation chamber, no need for the expensive add-ons. I can now do closed pressure transfers.

 

[M54B25]

But.....my company is offering me $1000 to purchase my anniversary gift.

This is the perfect way to buy a conical-- with someone else's money!

Given that you have this gift to use on something, are you trying to decide between something else specific vs. a conical, or you're just trying to decide if a conical would help your brewing process? If you want specific thoughts, these questions might be relevant: What do you ferment with now? How do you control temps? Do you have a floor drain (for easy cleaning/ dumping of trub)? What's most appealing of conical?

One additional point: are you sure you want a CF5 compared to a CF10? Everything is a little more expensive, but if you think you ever might want that extra capacity, it might make sense to go for it now.

My 2 cents: I'd say go for it. It won't make your beer magically better, but it does let you do additional stuff and in theory should last a lifetime.

 

[Knightshade]

It was customised by a firm called 'Distillex' on Aliexpress. They were fantastic. Really happy to provide what I wanted. It was cheaper than the first prototype I made from a blank 4" TC cap and weldless bulkhead fittings, which I still use regularly.

That would explain it, the one that I saw on there was made by same group. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Brewdog80]

Doogie, get it and ENJOY. I just bought a shiny albeit cheaper version, from Anvil for $240. I was tired of plastic and not being satisfied that the dang buckets were clean and truly sanitized. Conical is way too easy to drop trub out the bottom, and the lid comes off so you can see and clean by hand without going through a little keg opening. Oh, and McM, that is a cobbled up mess of a kettle and keg..... Sure, easy to clean... so much more so than a conical. NOT. We buy stuff to make beer, when in reality, we could buy beer cheaper.... Bud lite is cheap....

 

[ITV]

Bud lite is cheap....

One could argue that Bud lite is not real beer.
Life is too short to drink shi* beer!

 

[bracconiere]

i like my $150 milk can? but haven't really wanted to talk about... because both it and a conical are really just buckets....


but honestly, the heated comments make me laugh.... some people take brewing seriously, i just take it in stride. because if they're having dreams of glory, i'll just dump some juice in a storage tote. but if they're having fun and have the money, knock yourself out!

 

[Barbarossa]

Some people are convinced they need an F350 Super Duty but never haul anything bigger than groceries.
I'm sure I can get the job done with a sub-compact.

Yeah. Imagine using a mustang as a grocery getter. Still more fun though. That's undeniable.

 

[trapae]

Love my conical.
easy temp control
easy cold crash
pressure transfer
cip cleaning
decreased risk of O2

 

[bracconiere]

Love my conical.

my milk can has a big enough top i can scoop yeast out of it though!

 

[bwible]

My biggest concern with a conical would be having access to a floor drain very close in the event of any mishap. All the liquid can come out the bottom.

 

[Summa_Brewologica]

my milk can has a big enough top i can scoop yeast out of it though!

I think that’s a pretty cool idea, using milk cans.. I wouldn’t have thought to but now I might consider it in the future.

I just purchased a 10g torpedo ball lock keg and replaced the lid with norcal brewing solutions keg lid with thermowell for temp control. It should do for not but if I had the money or someone was buying me a conical I would love it. I am a gearhead though. I love stuff like that.

One major benefit I see to conicals and similar (even some cheaper plastic fermenters) is temp control without a fridge or freezer. I like the idea of having that so I could use my freezer to freeze again…or build a keezer. Whichever would be more useful.

 

[McMullan]

I guess you'd be better off brewing next to it, too, or faff about transferring wort. I can just manage to carry a full 29L kegmenter down the stairs to our basement. The full 50Ls I leave for the wife to carry down. Full conicals look a bit awkward to carry anywhere.

 

[Summa_Brewologica]

I guess you'd be better off brewing next to it, too, or faff about transferring wort. I can just manage to carry a full 29L kegmenter down the stairs to our basement. The full 50Ls I leave for the wife to carry down. Full conicals look a bit awkward to carry anywhere.

I am absolutely certain it will suck to carry but I don’t mind that. It has nice big handles opposed to the ss brew bucket I have been using.

 

[doogie]

With a 4" TC lid the options are almost endless.

View attachment 749373

Edit: You can put one of these together yourself and save some money. I don't use one myself. I only use pellet hops for lagers. Anyway, here's a better answer to your question:

I'm still at a loss to understand how I could attach something like the above and then be able to transfer out to another container without opening up to re-insert the floating dip tube with only a single opening. Am I missing something?

 

[McMullan]

I'm still at a loss to understand how I could attach something like the above and then be able to transfer out to another container without opening up to re-insert the floating dip tube with only a single opening. Am I missing something?

You'd use something like that if your aim was oxygen-free dry hopping, apparently. I think that was your initial question. In most cases, yes, you might have to swap the lid for another one to pressure transfer, which is pretty straightforward to do. Unless you had lids like mine, which have 3-4 ports, and can do a number of things associated with ball-lock posts, e.g. gas in, gas out, liquid out, thermowell, and an off-centred 1.5" TC ferrule.

 

[superiorsat]

I haven't thought too much about it. I always thought it was a cost I couldn't justify. But.....my company is offering me $1000 to purchase my anniversary gift.
I went to the spike store and quickly made up a $995 CF5 bundle - comprising of most of the bells and whistles I would need.
Do you love your conical? Other suggestions.

"Other suggestions" Have you moved to kegging from bottling yet? If you have not I would use your company's money to get set up with a kegging and kegerator or keezer/beer fridge scenario.

 

[doogie]

Have you moved to kegging from bottling yet? If you have not I would use your company's money to get set up with a kegging and kegerator or keezer/beer fridge scenario.

I've been kegging since the 1990's. I have a scratch and dent fridge that I converted into a 2 tap kegerator back then too. A few years ago I went to stainless steel anvil fermenter and a dedicated fermentation chamber, but I have issues keeping my NEIPAs free from oxygen when I dry hop after cold crashing.
Also I don't think they want me to give them a list of 50 items to purchase - also I'm certain they only want to deal with one company. In the past they forced us to choose between custom fit golf clubs or jewelry. I'm really glad they opened it up now.

 

[superiorsat]

On the home brew scale I use fermonsters with just a simple blow off tube into a pitcher of starsan. When I cold crash it starts to suck the starsan up the tube so I keep a fairly close eye on it ( if you don't you end up with starsan in your beer ). Then I will take my small CO2 tank with the gas ball lock off and flood the side of the bung as I crack it to let the CO2 get sucked into the fermenter instead of O2. You have to do this a few times before the suck back stops. I also position the tube to trickle CO2 into the fermenter when racking. I've only had one occasion where I dropped the hose when racking and had no choice but to proceed and yes that beer was oxidized-darker than normal and muddled but drinkable, but all the others have remained fine for over a month in the keg, but not all last that long. Lots of ways to accomplish things. I didn't want to spend the money to convert these fermonsters into a totally closed system like @Dgallo has shown how to do because I've been making NEIPA's without issue anyway except the one I mentioned. That doesn't mean the other way isn't better or less risk of O2 ingress. I would love to have a bunch of little stainless steel conical fermenters but my money is going into big equipment. I say go for it.

Edit: When I dry hop I also have the CO2 above my funnel as the hops go in and I thoroughly flood the head space after.

 

[Nate R]

I guess conical fanboys could wear a glycol jacket

... i'm too big to fit into my cf5 jacket. Anyone have a spare 1bbl size?

My biggest concern with a conical would be having access to a floor drain very close in the event of any mishap. All the liquid can come out the bottom.

Yeah- my cf5 sits inside the (small) home we rent. I have it on a cheap Harbor Freight cart. There is a 5" lip on the top, so any leaks should be contained. I dump trub via the bottom port through a 1" hose into a 5 gal bucket. After racking there is always some mess to clean up, but it's an easy wipe down. I wish i had a dedicated room with floor drain though!!

To the OP: go for it! You will enjoy it. But be prepared to want cooling options soon: glycol chiller most likely. Or a fridge.

Making beer should be fun.

 

[Brewdog80]

One could argue that Bud lite is not real beer.
Life is too short to drink shi* beer!

And you REALLY think anyone here would drink that swill? Just being a bit facetious...

 

[Brewdog80]

... i'm too big to fit into my cf5 jacket. Anyone have a spare 1bbl size?

Yeah- my cf5 sits inside the (small) home we rent. I have it on a cheap Harbor Freight cart. There is a 5" lip on the top, so any leaks should be contained. I dump trub via the bottom port through a 1" hose into a 5 gal bucket. After racking there is always some mess to clean up, but it's an easy wipe down. I wish i had a dedicated room with floor drain though!!

To the OP: go for it! You will enjoy it. But be prepared to want cooling options soon: glycol chiller most likely. Or a fridge.

Making beer should be fun.

And with a non conical, i.e, plastic bucket, straight sided, flat bottom fermenter, you'll have a quart left on the bottom if the valve fails.

 

[RufusBrewer]

I refuse to accept conicals as practical at home-brew level. For the budget you'd be so much better off buying 3 kegmenters, IMHO.

When it comes down to it, you do not have homebrew at all. You can get plenty of good quality beer, cheaper and easier than homebrewing.

It is all comes down to practicality and what the heart wants.

Do you have the spare finances that allow you to indulge in a conical? Do you have the space to use a conical? Do you have a commitment to the hobby that a conical is a good move?

No matter what equipment and process you use for homebrewing, there is probably somebody out there is that is doing more economically less and lighter equipment.

 

[matt_m]

I haven't thought too much about it. I always thought it was a cost I couldn't justify. But.....my company is offering me $1000 to purchase my anniversary gift.
I went to the spike store and quickly made up a $995 CF5 bundle - comprising of most of the bells and whistles I would need.
Do you love your conical? Other suggestions.

I just bought a pair of fully loaded CF10s this fall. Love them. Do I make better beer than with a bucket? Hard to say. Did I enjoy pouring a cold crashed and fully carbonated beer right off the fermenter last night? Yes.

I was going to buy CF5 but a lot of people suggested going to the CF10s. I switched to 6 gallon batches when I did that and can the extra gallon for friends. I figure I can go up to 7-8 gallons with my brewhouse if I want more to can. One really nice thing is I've yet to have any krausen reach the lid which makes for far easier cleaning.

 

[doogie]

Those who think it's a waste, how about a canner? Cannular at MoreBeer is $760 for the top of the line, throw in some cans and I'm at my $1000.

 

[eric19312]

I like my conical a lot. I have a CF15 which has worked very well for me.

 

[McMullan]

Those who think it's a waste, how about a canner? Cannular at MoreBeer is $760 for the top of the line, throw in some cans and I'm at my $1000.

No, an even bigger waste of money. I don't buy into canning home brew either. Both conicals and canning were developed in brewing to increase profit for commercial breweries. The application at home-brew scales is limited, IMHO. Having money to burn still requires reasoned justification to spend. What about 2 kegmenters and an EasyDens hydrometer? I've been playing with my new EasyDens all day and it's the dog's bollocks. A quality instrument any home brewer would get a lot of mileage for his buck.

 

[bracconiere]

No, an even bigger waste of money. I don't buy into canning home brew either.

damn man, you're starting to just sound like you're no fun!


i mean i just fill up 1 liter empty coke battles, with a 1/4" tube out of my picnic tap...but some people like toys. i don't see anything wrong with that.


in all seriousness, if my company said what do you want for $1000, i'd say some treasury bonds!

 

[doogie]

damn man, you're starting to just sound like you're no fun!


i mean i just fill up 1 liter empty coke battles, with a 1/4" tube out of my picnic tap...but some people like toys. i don't see anything wrong with that.


in all seriousness, if my company said what do you want for $1000, i'd say some treasury bonds!

replying to the T bond part
They want it to be a gift, something you normally wouldn't get. Until a few years ago you could get golf clubs at a high end fitter, jewelry from a high end jeweler (both local) or a gift from Tiffany's.

 

[bracconiere]

They want it to be a gift, something you normally wouldn't get. Until a few years ago you could get golf clubs at a high end fitter, jewelry from a high end jeweler (both local) or a gift from Tiffany's.

well man, i've been wanting a few grand of treasury bonds for over a decade! wouldn't that be a neat gift? but seriously, the only brew thing that i hold off on, is a pump system to make it 'light weight'.....